In the art of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment, there is an ever increasing utilization of electronic based or configured controls. The use of microprocessors for monitoring the status of an HVAC system and certain operating conditions, effecting control over operation of the HVAC system and for the storage of suitable system identification information has become increasingly common. However, one problem associated with the use of microprocessor based air conditioning system controls is the difficulty in obtaining accurate information concerning the operation and performance of the air conditioning equipment. Still further, control systems have been developed which have the capability to transmit information to remote locations via various types of data transmission equipment. However, human observation of operation of air conditioning equipment is, typically, a major source of information and known types of controls typically require external devices which must be connected to a microprocessor control board, for example, and require an interface and a computer to retrieve desired information. Such methods are cumbersome, expensive and difficult to implement.
Accordingly, with the increasing sophistication of air conditioning systems equipped with electronic controls, there has been a need to develop an information storage device which is removable from the control system processor so that information regarding, for example, the operation of air conditioning equipment may be analyzed and so that suitable control functions may be modified, as needed, by personnel servicing the air conditioning equipment. Moreover, there has also been a need to provide so-called generic controllers or control systems for air conditioning equipment which may be programmed or provided with operating parameters after completion of manufacture and even after installation of such equipment. It is to these ends that the present invention has been developed.